''Porites porites'', commonly known as hump coral or finger coral, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

stony coral Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a m ...

in the genus ''

Porites ''Porites'' is a genus of stony coral; they are small polyp stony (SPS) corals. They are characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symme ...

''. It is found in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean and also along the coast of West Africa.

Description

''Porites porites'' forms irregular patches of short, finger-like lobes with blunt, slightly swollen tips. Sometimes these are densely packed but in other locations they are widely spaced. The lobes are up to wide which distinguishes this species from other members of the genus that have narrower lobes. They may be curved or hooked and grow in all directions. The colour is usually white or pale blueish-grey. This species is known to be some of the oldest forms of life on earth due to the slow growth rate of the coral. The coral is formed from tiny polyps that attach together at the base of their skeletons and branch outward. Scientists believe that some Porites coral are up to 1,000 years old and can reach heights of eight meters and widths of up to five meters.Finger coral (Porites porites). (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.arkive.org/finger-coral/porites-porites/

Distribution and habitat

''Porites porites'' occurs throughout the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas and southern Florida and as far south as Venezuela. It is also found in shallow tropical seas off the west coast of Africa. It is found from low water mark down to a depth of about and occurs on both fore reefs and back reefs where the water is not too turbid. It also occurs on the

prop roots Buttress roots also known as plank roots are large, wide roots on all sides of a shallowly rooted tree. Typically, they are found in nutrient-poor tropical forest soils that may not be very deep. They prevent the tree from falling over (hen ...

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

s and among seagrass {'' Thalassia spp.'').

Biology

''Porites porites'' is a zooxanthellate coral, the tissues containing unicellular green algae living symbiotically within the cells. These are

photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in ...

and use the

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

and waste materials produced by the coral, supplying oxygen and organic compounds in return. Unlike most stony corals, the polyps of ''Porites porites'' often extend their

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s to feed in the daytime.

Status

''Porites porites'' is listed as being of "

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This is because it is a common species throughout its range and the population seems stable. It is an adaptable species being found in a wide range of habitats and is not particularly susceptible to bleaching. It is prone to coral diseases but its chief threat is the loss of reef habitat through mechanical damage, violent storms, a rise in sea temperatures,

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxi ...

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

, increased

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to t ...

and tourism.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3332895 Poritidae Cnidarians of the Atlantic Ocean Cnidarians of the Caribbean Sea Marine fauna of Africa Marine fauna of North America Marine fauna of South America Corals described in 1766 Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas